Page 71 of The Woman Who Said Yes

Eva nods glumly, then brightens a little. ‘Yeah, you’re right. Anyway, it was a stupid idea. Did I completely lose my mind?’

Instead of answering I give her another quick, reassuring hug. ‘No one’s going to notice the lack of a centrepiece,’ I assure her. ‘All eyes will be on you, so let’s get started.’

She smiles, brightening now, and heads for the bathroom. A little later, both of us are swathed in bath towels when the bouquet is delivered. The spriggy assortment of cornflowers and poppies looks as if it could have been gathered from a meadow, and is quite beautiful. And then Milla arrives and the room fills with chatter as she does Eva’s make-up in the living room, the table entirely covered with her kit. She fixes Eva’s hair and does my make-up with such skill that I can hardly believe it’s me in the mirror.

‘You look gorgeous,’ Eva exclaims, her eyes glossy with tears.

‘So do you!’

‘You’re a pair of beauties,’ Milla announces as she packs away her make-up. Then, as she’s about to head for home and get ready herself, she jokily wags a finger at Eva. ‘Don’t be late!’

‘I won’t.’

‘And be careful when you put your dress on. Remember to drink through a straw. Don’t mess up that lipstick…’

Eva laughs and salutes her, and she’s gone.

Alone now, we put on our wedding outfits, and I do my hair in the way I always do, just floofed out a little. Eva looks so beautiful in her yellow dress, a lump forms in my throat. Yet she seems a little unsure and is fiddling with her hair unnecessarily. ‘Are you okay?’ I ask gently.

She nods. ‘I’m thinking about Mum and Dad.’

‘Oh, darling. They’d be so happy for you today.’

‘You think so?’ She squeezes my hand. ‘They wouldn’t say I’m a raving idiot?’

‘Eva,’ I say, ‘no one would ever say that about you.’

We leave her flat, and as we step into the waiting taxi I glance again at my beautiful friend. ‘You two must be going somewhere special,’ the driver remarks, glancing back with a smile.

‘I’m getting married,’ Eva tells him.

‘Aw, congratulations, darling. He’s a lucky guy!’ She thanks him and, as we pull way, I wrap my hand around hers. She is shaking a little, I realise.

I turn to her. ‘Ready?’ I ask.

She beams at me, nodding. ‘Guess so. At least, as ready as I’ll ever be.’

40

SAM

Sam is wearing a suit. The suit that Farrah ordered him to go out and buy in plenty of time ‘because it has to feel right, Sam. You can’t just grab the first thing you see. You’ve got to feel the fabric and scrunch it up in your hand, then let it go and see if any creases fall straight out. Otherwise, it’s just going to look cheap.’ Christ, how does a twenty-three-year-old know this stuff? Although he thought he’d struck lucky on his first foray to the shops, his confidence is wavering as he arrives at the registry office.

A small group has already gathered outside. Around them, all of life is happening as they stand chatting and laughing in the dappled sunshine. There are buses and taxis and bikes. Two harassed-looking women are shepherding a sprawling group of children down the street. A young man is carrying a small fluffy dog and music blares from a passing car.

From a distance Sam scans the group, spotting Milla the make-up artist and a few other faces from Eva’s gathering. There’s Hadley Morgan in a long blue dress and an extravagant hat with a great swoosh at the front, like a giant leaf. There’s Eva in brilliant yellow, and he smiles. And then he sees Andie and his heart seems to stop.

She is wearing a pale pink dress and a sort of black shawl – no, not a shawl, that makes her sound about ninety-seven – and she looks wonderful. So wonderful that, if it wouldn’t seem weird, and there wasn’t a wedding to go to, he could stand here looking at her all day.

His breath catches as she spots him. She waves madly and calls out his name. ‘Are you coming to this wedding? Or is there somewhere else you’ve got to be?’

Sam laughs, feeling better instantly. He hurries towards her and they hug. ‘Very dapper!’ she says, standing back as if to appraise him properly.

‘Thanks.’

‘Sharp yet unstructured, I think is how Eva would describe it.’

‘Yeah. I guess!’ He realises he is beaming inanely at her. When he woke this morning, the Phil situation was still niggling him. More than niggling, actually. It felt like a tiny caterpillar-like bug with very sharp teeth, gnawing away at his brain. But she’s still Andie and he loves her and they will always be friends – and right now that doesn’t seem like such a terrible state of affairs. ‘You look amazing,’ he tells her, a little belatedly.